


Myths and legends

by eliottsevak



Series: Paladin Problems [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Keith (Voltron), Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Bonding, Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherly Love, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Fluff, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 03:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17015214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliottsevak/pseuds/eliottsevak
Summary: Shiro and Emori haven't always had an amazing sibling dynamic, nor have they have known each other their whole lives, here is the story of Emori King came to be Emori King-Shirogane.





	Myths and legends

**Author's Note:**

> Set way before the events of the first story, obviously.

Takashi Shirogane prided himself on taking care of Keith as best as he could, the kid really needed all the help Shiro could offer. 

Keith needed someone to protect him and actually care for him, and Shiro thrived on being a parental figure to the younger boy. Keith would be a pilot in training next year, and Shiro couldn't be more excited, but Keith didn't seem to be as much. 

And sometimes Shiro needed a break too, with all he has worked for sometimes he just needs out of the house, he used to just fly out in the desert, but after he brought Keith he didn't want to go without him. 

So today Shiro decided that walking through a friendly neighborhood near the Garrison was in order, he knew some people who lived her, most of them were rich elitists with kids going to Garrison. 

Other's just worked at the Garrison, Shiro knew most people in the gated community in the only grassy area for miles. The parents inside those houses couldn't visit their kids at the Garrison no matter how much they wanted too. It was a rule that students weren't aloud to see family unless it was on a holiday break. 

Garrison students weren't aloud off of the Garrison property either until their pilots, and only on weekends, Shiro thinks about that vividly as he looks at the seemingly young girl sitting near a tree in a Garrison uniform. 

She's not pilot level, and she's tiny and thin, almost curled up on herself with a book in her lap, she looks almost younger than Keith, but she wouldn't have a Garrison uniform then as this Keith's first year at the Garrison. 

Shiro leans down and gets a closer look at her. Her skin is a light brown her hair is a midnight black, it's strung back in two long French braids in either side of her head, reaching to her waist. 

"Hello?" Shiro asked the girl, she snapped her head up to meet his eyes and scooted backwards, shutting her book. "Don't be scared. I'm Shiro, you are?" He introduces, the girl has got a round face a large purple bruise on her eye, her eyes are grey. 

"Emori" she said quietly. "Uh Emori King Mr. Shirogane" so Emori knew who he was. Shiro didn't recognise her at all. "Do you attend the Garrison?" He asked softly, still leaning over the smaller girl. 

"I will in a week." She answered easily. "Do your parents live in that neighborhood?" He asked, pointing to gated community across the street, she glanced at it and scoffed, like the idea of that was ridiculous. 

"They Don't have the kinda money for that" she snarls, almost like she's angry. "They took a bus with me here. Left me about 2 miles from here with a parting gift" she gestures to the bruise on her eye and Shiro shudders, Why is she so nonchalant about it?

"Your dad, he um, hits you?" Shiro asked carefully. Not wanting to make Emori cry. "Yeah, he says its to man us up. I've gotten used to it, Clary says I've got to" she pulls her knees to her chest, like she's embarrassed. "'Says that he's helping" she murmurs into her knees, she almost sounds like she has a Brooklyn accent. 

"Who's Clary?" He asked, avoiding telling her just yet that her dad isn't helping her, he's hurting her. "M' older sister, there's also Neya and Maeve. Older brother Walt and younger sister Livia and other brother Julius. Momma loves mythology" she mutters. Shiro wants to smile, she sounds like she loves her family quite a lot, even her dad, who Shiro has decided has to be one of the biggest assholes in the entire universe. 

"Where are you from?" He asked, hoping her answer would be in this area, that way Shiro might be able to do something about her dad. "Brooklyn in New York" Shiro wants to curse at himself. He can't do anything from here. 

"Why are you wating out here with no bags?" Shiro asked, seeing the lack of stuff she owns. "Didn't have any, dad said didn't need it cause I wasn't family no more if I went to the Garrison" she responded. 

"Why not?" 

"His brother, Clark was permanently paralyzed and brain dead from crashing a pilot ship at the Garrison. Didn't want any other Kings goin' back" Emori told him. "Come with me, I'm gonna take you to my apartment" Shiro said, deciding to take her in.

"I'm not supposed to trust strange man that I meet on the street" Emori snapped back, standing up, arm tucked around her book, hand on her waist. Ready to run. 

"You just told me that your dad is abusive and you don't have anything. You don't have to come with me. But you can" he offers, out stretching his hand. She takes it gingerly and he pulls her a long before letting go. 

"He's not abusive" Emori muttered he sounded like she was saying 'e's' more than He, but Shiro understood and frowned. "He's hitting you and your siblings. That's abusive" Shiro knew this so why didn't Emori. 

"He does it cause he cares." Emori remarks. Her hands are wrapped around her book, it's pushes to her chest ans her shoulders are hunched, she's tense and nervous, but Shiro can't blame her. 

"He doesn't care if he hits you Emori, that's not what family does. Why does he do it, is he drunk?" Shiri asked, worrying filling him, Emori thinks this is okay, that this is normal in families, which means it hasn't been just recently that her dad does this, it had to be her whole life if it's ao normalised. 

"Daddy's not an alcoholic, he does it when we do somethin' wrong, 'teaching us for the real world' is what Julius told me. It's been happening for as long as I can remember." Emori offers, she's still tense as Shiro leads her to a bus stop, ready to pay for tickets all the way back to the Garrison, it's only a couple miles now but Emori already walked two, she must be exhausted. 

"That's not normal in families Emori. It's wrong for a parent to slap or punch their children" Emori looks up at him wide eyed. They continue walking to the bus stop, in a deafening silence. 

···

Shiro manages to get Emori to his house quickly, and she's still all tense and hiding behind him as he opens the door. "Shiro!-" Keith is yelling at him the second he walkes through the door, feeling excited. 

Shiro can smell something homemade that Adam made and he smiled softly to himself. "Adam!" He called out to his boyfriend of two years. "Yes Shir- who is this?" Adam looked down at Emori. 

"This is Emori King. She's going to be joining the Garrison next week. I need to talk to you" he grits his teeth at the last part and gestures sadly with his head to Keith and Emori. 

"Oh let's get some food in you baby, your skinny as a stick" Adam leads Emori, who complies easily to follow him towards the amazing smelling food. 

Shiro waits in their bedroom until Adam opens the door and shuts it behind him. "Shiro-" Adan starts, rubbing his temples and sighing at him.

"I know what your going to say but her parents just left her here, told her she wasn't apart of the family. She walked two miles and her dad is abusive and its so normalised in her life and I just-" Shiro didn't realize he was crying until Adam wiped the tears from his eyes. 

"Shiro- I don't know if we can take her in. She has a legal guardian.-" Adam started, trying to reason with his ever stubborn boyfriend. 

"Yes but there in Brooklyn, I don't think it would be am issue of we took care of her here too" Shiro suggested. Adam did another of his famous deep sighs, meaning he was agreeing with Shiro.

"Under some conditions. She has to get along with Keith, she must do chores and keep her grades at a B or above" Adam said, wrapping his arms around his bigger boyfriends waist. 

"I wouldn't have it any other way" Shiro murmured into his brown hair, pushing his cheek against his head.

···

"Wait so in this Version Cinderella has her birds peck out her evil step sisters eyes?" Keith asked excitedly, him and the new girl in the Garrison Uniform- Emori- were sitting on the floor, her big story book spread out on the floor.

They had finished Adam's empanadas and Shiro and Adam were still talking in their room, so Emori showed her his story book. "Yeah, the stories are a lot darker in the Grimm brothers versions than the movies" Adam and Shiro finally left their room and looked at the two. 

"Like what else?" Keith asked eagerly, suddenly having an affinity for fairytales. "Ariel doesn't get her happy ending, she never kisses the Prince and enda up turning into sea foam" Emori told him excitedly, flipping through the book eagerly, using her memory to place the page where it was shown.

"Woah, wicked" Keith laughed. "You showing Keith your book?" Shiro asked the two. "Shiro, Shiro these princess are actually cool, Cinderella gets revenge on her step sisters and uses her birds ro claw their eyes out!" He told Shiro excitedly. 

"Very interesting, Emori. We were wondering if instead of staying in the garrison dorms you could maybe stay with us" Shiro suggested to the girl, Emori looked up at him confused.

"Please Emori, I want to read more stories with you, and- and our hair is the same color, that means you have to stay" Keith said, trying to make her stay with them, Emori and Adam cracked a smile and she giggled. "Yeah I'll stay. I'll stay with you guys." 

···

It's just months after Keith and Emori's first day as pilots when Iverson enters Shiro's office. He's stoic as ever, hands placed by his sides and holding an envelope.

"Lieutenant Shirogane, your charge Emori King has received some bad news" Shiro felt his heart drop and his throat dry, but his hands got sweaty as he managed to ask about what bad news.

"Emori's family was attacked last night at their Brooklyn apartment, Walcott, Julius, Livia, her mother Libba and father Conan were all found dead while her other three sisters -Clary, Neya, and Maeve have not been found. She has no legal guardian anymore" Iverson told him. 

Shiro felt like his world was turned upside down, on the one hand, Emori could finally legally be his, his to protect but on the other, and Shiro hated himself for thinking that first thing first was that Emori's family was dead.

But what was even worse, he thought Conan deserved it before he ever thought about how this might affect Emori. 

"I know you care for Emori. She was already tols by the guidance counselor, and I know you've been practically buzzing about adopting her and even though the circumstances are exactly ideal, these are the papers you, Adam and Emori need to sign off on" Iverson set them down.

"If it isn't filles out in a week they'll take her out of the Garrison and into a foster care system in Brooklyn." 

···

"If you want to be permanently adopted by Adam and I you just sign here, and if you don't, you'll leave the Garrison, go back to the foster system in Brooklyn" Emori's face seemed to fill with fear, as Shiro had realized was a lot more common than he would've thought.

It turned out Emori (as she shouldve been) wasn't okay with the abuse her father gave her, she was terrified of it and often woke up screaming because of it. 

"I can't leave the Garrison, Keith, James, Ryan, Ina, Nadia" Emori said. "Make this decision for yourself Emori, not for us or them" Adam suggested. Emori grabbed the pen and pressed it to the paper, holding it there for a moment, then writing her full name out in calligraphy.

Emori Juno King-Shirogane

···

It's 6 weeks later that the will is finally put into action, her mother was the only one with a will, and she sent all of her books to Emori in lew of her death. The rest of everything that legally belonged to Emori was placed in a storage unit underneath the apartment they all lived in.

Emori was reorganizing her bookshelves when Adam and Shiro joined her, Keith haf gotten angry that day, so mad he punched a wall at the garrison, and he was sleeping it off in his bedroom.

"What kind of mythology did your mom read you?" Adam asked, his hand intertwined with Shiro's, they watched Emori reorganize the shelves ideally. 

"Mostly Greek and Roman, sometimes Egypt, or Arabic, Norse, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Korean Spanish myths. I really like the ones involving Japan." Emori said, she pushed two books to thw side and slotted another book in between. 

"Why Japan?" Shiro asked, he was Japanese, and he wanted to know some myths from his home. "It's cool getting to know your heritage. My mom was Greek and Japanese, daddy was black, he lived in Africa most of his life until he moved with his brother for a better life, Clark teached at the Garrison, he met my mom, daughter of the principal who wanted to be a history teacher there. He said it was the only good thing to come out of him coming to America. And his kids." Emori dragged a stack of books from the box and stared at them.

"I didn't even know you were Japanese." Shiro laughed. "Which myths are those?" Shiro glanced at the stack of them. "Most people don't know I am until I tell them. These are African myths and religions, there aren't many African myths though" Emori shrugged, pushing them near the Arabic myths. 

"What's your favorite myth from Japan?" Adam asked.

"Izanagi and Kitsune's" she started ezplaing, and sometimes switched over to Japanese which shocked Shiro so much he choked for a moment before she continued talking about the languages she knew, that she was learning Swahili from her father before she left for the Garrison.

Adam and Shiro read a book on Arabic myths in her bed against the wall and fell asleep, and later when Keith found them and crawled into bed, well Shiro couldn't be bothered enough to wake his sleeping family.

His family.


End file.
